Whipstock orientation system and method

ABSTRACT

A whipstock assembly and method of operation is disclosed that automatically orients itself within a wellbore to a known first rotational position. The whipstock assembly is mounted on bearings that permit free rotation of the whipstock assembly within the wellbore. Due to gravitational forces, the eccentric weight load of the whipstock will automatically orient itself on the low side of the wellbore. Most wellbores are angled and the angle, azimuth, depth and other information about the wellbore is known so that the operator will know what position the whipstock assembly will automatically assume. A lower orientation section of the whipstock assembly is clamped into that first rotational position such as by a lower packer and/or slips. The whipstock is then rotated to the desired orientation by reciprocating the wellbore string. The whipstock is then clamped into the desired rotational position by activating an upper packer and/or slips. The running tool is removed and drilling or milling can be initiated. After the new wellbore is completed, the whipstock assembly can be retrieved from the wellbore or relocated to a different borehole depth to be used to drill or mill another new borehole section.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] (1) Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to whipstock orientationand, more particularly, to a whipstock assembly that when positioneddownhole automatically orients to a known reference position from whichselectable whipstock orientation adjustments can be effected.

[0003] (2) Description of the Prior Art

[0004] It is often desirable, in both cased and open hole, to branch offone or more times from an existing wellbore or to sidetrack away from anobject such as a fish or toward an object such as a revised geologicaltarget. A whipstock may be used as a guide for the drill bit or mill increating the new borehole sections, casing windows, and the like, sothat the new borehole section is oriented in the desired direction. Thewhipstock is anchored in the wellbore at the desired depth at which thenew well is to be kicked off. The bit or mill engages the generallymetallic whipstock face or surface that is typically angled so as tourge the bit or mill in a desired direction. In this manner, it is wellknown that the mill or drill bit is thereby directed to mill or drill inthe direction intended for the new wellbore section.

[0005] However, orienting the whipstock to direct the drill bit or mill,as may typically be desirable for drilling the new wellbore through aparticular formation of interest, has been a problem. For the newwellbore to be drilled in the desired direction, the whipstock face mustbe oriented in the wellbore such that the whipstock face is positionedto guide the bit or mill in that direction. While the whipstock may belowered on a wellbore string such as a tubular string, the wellborestring will often be quite flexible due to the length thereof so thatthe direction in which the whipstock is pointing cannot be determinedbased on the orientation of the wellbore string at the surface. Variousmethods have been used in the past for orienting the whipstock but thesemethods generally require running additional tools into the wellborethus requiring additional valuable rig time for such purposes. Forinstance, to determine the initial position of the whipstock anorientation survey tool may be run into the well. In cased hole, anon-magnetic orientation survey tool such as a gyroscopic survey toolmay be used. In open hole, either a gyroscopic survey tool or a magneticcompass tool may be used. Once the initial position is known, then thepipe is rotated and the orientation survey tool takes another survey todetermine if the whipstock is properly oriented. This process iscontinued until orientation is complete. This is because that due todoglegs, deep depths, crooked hole sections, and the like, it may not bepossible to know how much the whipstock has been rotated without use ofthe subsequent surveys. If the survey tool is a wireline tool, then thesurvey tool may be rigged up such that it can stay in the pipe duringrotation and send the information to the surface. However, this mayrequire a special rig up for the sheave wheels such that the pipe can bemanipulated while the wireline remains in the pipe. If the survey toolis operated by slickline, or is a single shot tool such as a batteryoperated tool, then a separate trip into and out of the hole must bemade for each survey because the tool must be retrieved to determine theresult. The wireline rig up takes longer and the wireline survey tendsto be more expensive than a slickline survey. However, slicklineoperation requires multiple trips.

[0006] Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a self-orientingwhipstock assembly and method that is designed to orient itself in aknown rotational orientation within the borehole and, where adjustmentfrom the known rotational orientation is necessary, permits rotation ofthe whipstock from the known rotational orientation to the desiredrotational position without the use of additional tools that requireadditional trips into the wellbore. Those skilled in the art willappreciate the present invention that addresses the above and otherneeds and problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to providean improved whipstock assembly and method.

[0008] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide amore efficient assembly and method for orienting the whipstock assemblydownhole in a desired direction.

[0009] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the drawings, the descriptions givenherein, and the appended claims.

[0010] In accordance with the present invention, a method is providedfor orientating a whipstock in a desired direction which may comprisemethod steps such as the step of utilizing a wellbore string forpositioning a whipstock assembly containing the whipstock at a desireddepth within a borehole section that is angled in a known direction. Anadditional step of the method may comprise providing that the whipstockis initially free to rotate within the borehole such that a weightedportion of the whipstock assembly is automatically oriented bygravitational forces in a first rotational position.

[0011] The method may further comprise affixing an orientation sectionof the whipstock assembly with respect to the borehole in the firstrotational position and rotating the whipstock with respect to theorientation section to a second rotational position. Additional stepsmay comprise affixing the whipstock with respect to the borehole in thesecond rotational position.

[0012] In one presently preferred embodiment, the step of affixing thewhipstock may comprise setting a packer. The method may also compriseaffixing an orientation section of the whipstock assembly by setting aninflatable packer. More generally, the method comprises engaging aradially moveable member which may be characterized by an expandableand/or inflatable element and/or may include one or more packers, slips,slips and packers, or any other suitable gripping means with respect tothe borehole to thereby affix an orientation section of the whipstockassembly in the first rotational position. In one preferred embodiment,the method includes utilizing compressed gas for the step of affixingsuch as setting the packer or other affixing means such as slips and thelike.

[0013] In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the method includesa step of providing that the whipstock assembly is rotatableindependently from the wellbore string. Additional branches from thewellbore can be produced by the steps of releasing the whipstockassembly from the wellbore string, initiating drilling of a first newborehole section using the whipstock assembly, reattaching the wellborestring to whipstock assembly, and repositioning the whipstock assemblyat a second desired depth for drilling a second new borehole section.

[0014] In another description, the method may comprise steps such aspositioning a whipstock assembly containing the whipstock at a desireddepth within a borehole, affixing an orientation section of thewhipstock assembly with respect to the borehole in a first rotationalposition, and rotating the whipstock with respect to the orientationsection to a second rotational position. In one preferred embodiment,the step of affixing the whipstock with respect to the borehole in thesecond rotational position is responsive to receiving a signal, such asignal generated at the surface by mudpumps, with at least onetransducer, such as a pressure transducer, in the whipstock assembly.The step of rotating may further comprise reciprocally moving a wellboretubular string a selected number of reciprocal strokes. Preferably, eachreciprocal stroke is translated into a specific amount of rotation ofthe whipstock. A preferred feature of the present invention includes thestep of providing that the whipstock assembly is initially freelyrotatable within the borehole section such that gravitational forcesmove the whipstock assembly to the first rotational position.

[0015] The invention also comprises a whipstock assembly for use in awellbore that may comprise a whipstock with a guide surface, anorientation section, a rotational connection between the whipstock andthe orientation section; and one or more radially moveable memberssecured to the orientation section. The one or more radially moveablemembers may be radially moveable from a nonengaged position with respectto the wellbore to an engaged position with respect to the wellbore foraffixing the orientation section in the first rotational position.

[0016] As well, one or more second radially moveable members may besecured to the whipstock. Likewise the one or more second radiallymoveable members secured to the whipstock may be radially moveable froma nonengaged position with respect to the wellbore to an engagedposition with respect to the wellbore for affixing the whipstock in thesecond selectable rotational position.

[0017] A mechanical motion translator may be provided for translatingreciprocal movement of the wellbore string into rotational movementbetween whipstock and the orientation section. A transducer such as apressure transducer may be attached to the whipstock assembly forreceiving a signal and a container may be provided for compressed gas.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, one or more bearings are preferablymounted with respect to the whipstock assembly such that the whipstockassembly is rotatable with respect to the wellbore. One side of thewhipstock assembly comprises a heavy side. Due the bearings, the heavyside may be automatically positioned by gravity in the first rotationalposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] A more complete understanding of the invention and many of theattendant advantages thereto will be readily appreciated as the samebecomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein corresponding reference characters indicatecorresponding parts throughout the drawing and wherein:

[0020]FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partially in section, of anembodiment of a self orienting whipstock assembly in accord with thepresent invention;

[0021]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, partially in section, alonglines 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing how the whipstock is automatically orientedin an angled borehole;

[0022]FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partially in section, of the selforienting whipstock assembly of FIG. 1 with the lower packer or slipsexpanded to anchor the assembly in a first rotational position;

[0023]FIG. 4 is an elevational view, partially in section, with a springof a mechanical translation mechanism compressed to thereby changereciprocal movement of the wellbore string into rotational movement ofthe whipstock;

[0024]FIG. 5 is an elevational view, partially in section, with theupper packer or slips expanded to anchor the whipstock in the desiredrotational position;

[0025]FIG. 6 is an elevational view, partially in section, of therunning tool being removed such as by shearing retaining pins;

[0026]FIG. 7 is an elevational view, partially in section, with thewhipstock directing a bit or mill in the desired direction to form a newborehole;

[0027]FIG. 8 is an elevational view, partially in section, showing thewhipstock assembly adjacent a newly drilled wellbore after the drillingor milling wellbore string has been removed;

[0028]FIG. 9 is an elevational view, partially in section, showing thewhipstock assembly being retrieved for removal or for repositioning todrill another borehole; and

[0029]FIG. 10 is an elevational view, showing a slotted sleeve used formechanical translation of reciprocal movement of the wellbore stringinto rotational movement of the whipstock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to FIG. 1there is shown a self orienting whipstock assembly 10 in accord with thepresent invention. Whipstock assembly 10 is mounted to be free forrotation within wellbore 12. Wellbore 12 may be a cased hole or also anopen hole, i.e., casing may have been set at the depth of interest ornot. To provide free rotation, whipstock assembly 10 may, for instance,be mounted on bearings such as upper bearing 14, middle bearings 16 and18, and lower bearing 20. The bearing design variations may include adifferent number of bearings, different locations, types of bearing, andthe like as may be changed as desired to effect free rotation ofwhipstock assembly 10 within wellbore 12.

[0031] Because whipstock assembly 10 is free to rotate within borehole12, and because very few boreholes are perfectly vertical, assembly 10will automatically rotate due to gravitational forces as shown in FIG.2. In the present design, whipstock 22 provides a shape that hasconsiderable extra weight on one side so that whipstock 22 will causethe whipstock assembly 10 to rotate so that whipstock 22 is at bottommost or low side 24 of borehole 12. Thus, whipstock 22 will move awayfrom high side 26 of borehole 12. Whipstock face 28 is seen to be shapedto form a concave guide surface for guiding the mill or bit. Other faceconfigurations could also be used as desired for guiding the desiredtype of drilling/milling device.

[0032] While the present invention is ideal for use where it isdesirable to conveniently determine the initial rotational position ofthe whipstock assembly without the need for orientation surveys such asin a deep, deviated wellbores, in some cases knowing the initialposition of the whipstock may be unnecessary. Even in a purely verticalborehole 12, it may be desirable to be able to rotate the whipstock froman unknown position by a known amount. To give one example, multiplebranches may be made for forming an “umbrella” configuration ofboreholes where the initial orientation is not necessary but it ishighly desirable to have the multiple boreholes oriented by a knownspaced rotational amount. The present invention is also ideal forproviding this service without the need for additional orientationsurveys by means discussed in detail subsequently. Thus, although thepresent invention is highly suited to use in deviated wellbores tothereby save time and cost, the present invention is not intended to belimited to use only in deviated wellbores. Moreover, it will beunderstood that such terms as “up,” “down,” “vertical,” and the like,are made with reference to the drawings and/or the earth and that thedevices may not be arranged in such positions at all times depending onvariations in operation, transportation, and the like. It will also beunderstood that the drawings are intended to describe the concepts ofthe invention so that the presently preferred embodiments of theinvention will be plainly disclosed to one of skill in the art but arenot intended to be manufacturing level drawings or renditions of finalproducts and may include simplified conceptual views as desired foreasier and quicker understanding or explanation of the invention. Aswell, the relative size of the components may be greatly different fromthat shown. Moreover, while an angled borehole 12, with respect to thevertical, is shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of explanation, it will beunderstood that the remainder of views which are shown to be verticallyoriented may or may not involve angled boreholes, i.e., deviatedboreholes.

[0033] Referring back to FIG. 1, whipstock assembly 10 comprises anupper section referred to herein as whipstock 22 and a lower sectionreferred to as orientation section 30. In this embodiment of theinvention, whipstock 22 is connected to orientation section 30 bymandrel 32. Mandrel 32 is interconnected as discussed subsequently, sothat at least initially, whipstock 22 and orientation section 30 arelocked so as to rotate together.

[0034] Therefore, referring now to FIG. 3, whipstock assembly 10 ispositioned at the desired depth and the tool has automatically rotatedso that whipstock 22 is in a first rotational position on the bottomside of the wellbore as shown in FIG. 2. The orientation of the wellboreis normally tracked during drilling so that the angle and azimuth of theborehole at any depth are known thereby permitting the operator todetermine the orientation that whipstock 22 will automatically assume atthe depth where the kickoff of the new borehole is to be. Thus afterpositioning whipstock assembly 10 at this depth, lower clamping member34 is activated as shown so as to expand radially outwardly to grip orengage borehole 12. Lower clamping member 34 may be a packer, slips, ora combination of slips and packer. Clamping member 34 may be one or moreelements that expand or move radially outwardly to grippingly engageborehole 12 and affix orientation section 30 in a known first rotationalposition. In a presently preferred embodiment, clamping member 34 is aninflatable packer.

[0035] It may happen that in the first rotational position, whipstock 22is already at the desired rotational position which will guide the bitor mill in the desired direction intended for the new borehole. However,normally this may not be the case. It will therefore typically benecessary to rotate whipstock 22 with respect to orientation section 30by an amount which the operator will know because he already knows thedesired direction of the new borehole and he knows the first rotationalposition at which whipstock 22 will be automatically oriented inwellbore 12 prior to and just after activating clamping member 34.

[0036]FIG. 4 illustrates how whipstock 22 is rotated with respect toorientation section 30. In a presently preferred embodiment, this actionis accomplished by using a mechanical motion translator to translatereciprocal movement of wellbore string 55 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 3) asindicated by arrow 36 in a downward direction. This action compressesspring 39 as indicated in FIG. 4. Referring back to FIG. 3, it is seenthat spring 39 is uncompressed. This reciprocalcompressing—uncompressing action moves mandrel 32 downwardly asindicated in FIG. 4 from the position of mandrel 32 as shown in FIG. 3.Attached to mandrel 32 is key 38. Key 38 moves through slotted sleeve40. A projection of slotted cylindrical sleeve 40 is shown in FIG. 10 asa plane surface 42 with grooves 44 and cam surfaces 46. Key 38 thenmoves as indicated by arrows and numbers in FIG. 10. Reciprocal movementof wellstring 55 as indicated by arrow 36 causes key 38 to followgrooves 44 and cam surfaces 46 thereby cause key 38 and, therefore,mandrel 32 to rotate. Mandrel 32 is attached to whipstock 22 so thatwhipstock 22 therefore rotates with respect to orientation section 30.Depending on the spacing of the grooves, the amount and direction ofrotation for each reciprocal stroke is known. For instance, if itdesired to rotate ninety degrees in the direction of rotation, and eachreciprocal stroke produces thirty degrees of rotation of whipstock 22,then the operator strokes the whipstock assembly three times. Generally,if the whipstock is within about thirty degrees of the desiredorientation for the new wellbore section, then that is sufficientlyaccurate for most applications. However, greater accuracy could beobtained with grooves having smaller spacings therebetween. As well, aspecific slotted sleeve 40 could be tailor made for a specificapplication if even more accuracy was desired.

[0037] It will be seen that mandrel 32 also rotationally locks whipstock22 and orientation section 30 together due to the position of mandrelkey 38 in grooves 44 which are biased to remain in position withingrooves 44 by spring 39. After lower clamping member 34 is activated,spring 39 can be compressed due to the affixed position of orientationsection 30 to thereby select the desired orientation of whipstock 22.Thus, with orientation section 30 affixed wellbore 12, relativereciprocal or longitudinal movement between whipstock 22 and orientationsection 30 is possible by reciprocal movement of wellbore string 55 tothereby also rotate whipstock 22 with respect to orientation section 30.

[0038] In FIG. 5, whipstock 22 has been oriented to the desired positionsuch as by one or more reciprocal strokes as discussed above. At thistime, upper clamping member 48 is activated to thereby lock whipstock 22into a second desired rotational orientation. Upper clamping member 48may be a packer, slips, or a combination of slips and packer. Upperclamping member 48 may be one or more elements that expand or moveradially outwardly to grippingly engage wellbore 12 and affixorientation section whipstock 22 in the second rotational position,which is the desired position. Due to engagement of upper clampingmember 48, pressure applied to whipstock 22 will no longer movewhipstock 22 downwardly so that further rotation of whipstock 22 isprevented. In a presently preferred embodiment, upper clamping member 48is an inflatable packer.

[0039] In FIG. 6, running tool 50 is removed by pulling upwardly on thewellbore string 55 to shear pins, bolts or disks 52. Other connectionsand means for releasing the whipstock may be used such as connectionswhich are used to release other types of downhole tools in the wellbore.Thus, shear pins, disks, or bolts are provided as an example only of onemethod of releasing the wellbore string and whipstock assembly 12.Running tool 50 may preferably include bearings or rotatable connection53 so as to permit whipstock assembly 10 to rotate freely with respectto wellbore string 55. Shear pins, bolts, or disks 52 could also beconnect to a rotational connection to effect this purpose. In any case,whipstock assembly 10 is preferably freely rotatable with respect towellbore string 55 and may be released therefrom when desired.

[0040] In FIG. 7, a new wellbore string 54 is run into wellbore 12 withbit or mill 56 to open a window in the casing or initiate drilling asthe situation may call for. Whipstock 22 guides bit or mill 56 in thedesired direction for the new borehole or casing window.

[0041] In FIG. 8, new lateral borehole 58 has been drilled and wellborestring 54 is removed. Upper connector 60, which may be of numeroustypes, is available for connection to remove or relocate whipstockassembly 10 once upper and lower clamping members 48 and 34,respectively, have been released. In FIG. 9, pulling tool 62 engagesupper connector 60 for retrieving whipstock assembly 10. As will benoted upper and lower clamping member 48 and 34 have been released priorto retrieval. If pulling tool 62 is used for relocating whipstockassembly 10 elsewhere to produce another new wellbore, then pulling tool62 will be designed to release from whipstock assembly 10 as discussedabove and may use shear pins, bolts, or other means such as tensionresponsive bolts and sleeves, actuators that respond to a pressureswitch as do the valves discussed hereinafter, or other suitable meansfor connecting to and/or releasing whipstock assembly 10.

[0042] Various means may be used for engaging and releasing upper andlower clamping members 48 and 34. In one embodiment, a liquid nitrogenreservoir 64 may be used with associated valves 66 and 68 for applyingpressure from liquid nitrogen reservoir 64 to the respective upper andlower clamping members 48 and 34. One or more pressure transducers andcontrols, such as transducers 70 and 72 may be used for controlling thevalves. For instance each transducer 70 may include a logic circuit thatresponds to a particular signal to open or close the respective valve inresponse to a particular code of pressure pulses that may be produced,for example only, by cycling the surface mud pumps. High temperaturelithium batteries may be encapsulated for powering the logic circuit,such as a microprocessor and for controlling the valves. For example,once the pressure signal for activating the lower clamping member isreceived and recognized by transducers such as 70 and 72, whichtransducer packages may also include a microprocessor and batteries,then valve 66 may be opened for a given period of time so that enoughnitrogen is taken from reservoir 64 into lower clamping member 34 whichmay be an inflatable/expandable packer. A different signal could be usedfor upper clamping member 48. Various methods could be provided fordeflation as well. For instance, a different signal could be used andvalves 66 and 68 could be three way valves to bleed off pressure intowellbore 12 and/or annulus 74. Mechanical means such as internal slidingsleeves could be used to shear pins. The sliding sleeves would shear thepins when a selected tension is applied to the whipstock assembly 10 bymeans of pulling tool 62, to allow the nitrogen to bleed off throughsleeve ports into wellbore 12 and/or annulus 74. The above discussionrelated to activating upper and lower clamping members 34 and 48 isgiven as an example only because numerous different methods areavailable for activating clamping members such as packers, plugs, andslips including mechanical, explosive, electrical means.

[0043] In summary, whipstock assembly 10 is run into wellbore 12 to thedesired depth at which the new wellbore is to be kicked off fromwellbore 12. Whipstock 10 automatically orients itself to the low side24 of wellbore 12 as shown in FIG. 2 which position is known beforehandto the operator as discussed above. Lower clamping member 34 affixesorientation section 30 with respect to wellbore 12 in the firstrotational position. The wellbore string including running tool 50 isreciprocated to thereby rotate whipstock 22 to the desired secondrotational postion. Upper clamping member 48 is then activated to affixwhipstock 22 in position. Running tool 50 is removed and the milling ordrilling assembly is then used to kickoff new wellbore 58. Oncecompleted, whipstock assembly 10 can be retrieved by releasing upper andlower clamping members 48 and 34 after reconnecting with whipstockassembly 10 using retrieving tool 62. Retrieving tool 62 may be used toremove whipstock assembly 10 from wellbore 12 or relocate whipstockassembly 10 elsewhere in borehole 12 or new wellbore 58 to kick offanother wellbore.

[0044] While the discussion above relates to using a wellbore string forrunning whipstock assembly 10 into wellbore 12 such as a pipe, drilling,or tubing string, other types of wellbore strings such as sucker rods,wireline, or slickline could also be used. Different adaptations couldthen be made as appropriate. For instance with wireline, electricalpower is generally available and could be used, for instance to activatethe clamping members, rotate the whipstock such as with an electricmotor, and the like. Alternatively wireline or slickline jars or weightsections could be used to produce a reciprocal movement for rotatingwhipstock 22 as discussed above. As stated above, other types ofconnectors for running tool and pulling tool 62 could be used.

[0045] Thus, numerous variations of the above method are possible, someof which have already been described. Therefore, it will be understoodthat many additional changes in the details, materials, steps andarrangement of parts, may be made by those skilled in the art within theprinciple and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for orientating a whipstock in aselectable direction, said method comprising: utilizing a wellborestring for positioning a whipstock assembly containing said whipstock ata depth within a borehole section that is angled in a known direction;providing that said whipstock assembly is initially free to rotatewithin said borehole such that a weighted portion of said whipstockassembly is automatically oriented by gravitational forces in a firstrotational position.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:affixing an orientation section of said whipstock assembly with respectto said borehole; and rotating said whipstock with respect to saidorientation section to a second rotational position.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: affixing said whipstock with respect tosaid borehole in said second rotational position.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein said step of affixing said whipstock comprises setting apacker.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising engaging a radiallymoveable member with respect to said borehole to thereby affix anorientation section of said whipstock assembly in said first rotationalposition.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing thatsaid whipstock assembly is rotatable independently from said wellborestring.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: releasing saidwhipstock assembly from said wellbore string, initiating drilling of afirst new borehole section using said whipstock assembly, reattachingsaid wellbore string to whipstock assembly, and repositioning saidwhipstock assembly at a second desired depth for drilling a second newborehole section.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: affixingan orientation section of said whipstock assembly by setting a packer.9. A method for orientating a whipstock in a selectable direction, saidmethod comprising: positioning a whipstock assembly containing saidwhipstock at a depth within a borehole; affixing an orientation sectionof said whipstock assembly with respect to said borehole in a firstrotational position; and rotating said whipstock with respect to saidorientation section to a second rotational position.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising: affixing said whipstock with respect tosaid borehole in said second rotational position responsive to receivinga signal with at least one transducer in said whipstock assembly. 11.The method of claim 9, wherein said step of rotating further comprises:reciprocally moving a wellbore tubular string a selected number ofreciprocal strokes.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein each saidreciprocal stroke is translated into a specific amount of rotation ofsaid whipstock.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein each of said stepsof affixing comprise setting a packer.
 14. A method for orientating awhipstock in a selectable direction, said method comprising: positioninga whipstock assembly containing said whipstock at a depth within aborehole section with a wellbore string; and reciprocally moving awellbore string a selected number of reciprocal strokes such that eachsaid reciprocal stroke is translated into a known amount of rotation ofsaid whipstock.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:providing that said whipstock assembly is initially freely rotatablewithin said borehole section such that gravitational forces move saidwhipstock assembly to a first rotational position.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, further comprising: affixing an orientation section of saidwhipstock assembly in said first rotational position.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising: detecting a signal with said whipstockassembly to initiate said step of affixing.
 18. The method of claim 16,further comprising: utilizing compressed gas for said step of affixing.19. The system of claim 17, further comprising: affixing said whipstockwith respect to said borehole at a second rotational position.
 20. Awhipstock assembly for use in a wellbore, comprising: a whipstock with aguide surface; an orientation section; a rotational connection betweensaid whipstock and said orientation section; and one or more radiallymoveable members secured to said orientation section, said one or moreradially moveable members being radially moveable from a nonengagedposition with respect to said wellbore to an engaged position withrespect to said wellbore for affixing said orientation section in afirst rotational position.
 21. The assembly of claim 20, furthercomprising: one or more second radially moveable members secured to saidwhipstock, said said one or more second radially moveable members beingradially moveable from a nonengaged position with respect to saidwellbore to an engaged position with respect to said wellbore foraffixing said whipstock in a second selectable rotational position. 22.The assembly of claim 20, further comprising: a mechanical motiontranslator for translating reciprocal movement of said wellbore stringinto rotational movement of said whipstock with respect to saidorientation section.
 23. The assembly of claim 20, further comprising: atransducer attached to said whipstock assembly for receiving a signal.24. The assembly of claim 20, further comprising a container forcompressed gas.
 25. A whipstock assembly for use in a wellbore, saidwhipstock assembly being moveable to a selectable depth with a wellborestring, said whipstock assembly comprising: a whipstock with a guidesurface; one or more bearings mounted with respect to said whipstockassembly such that said whipstock assembly is rotatable with respect tosaid wellbore, a heavy side of said whipstock assembly, said heavy sidebeing automatically positioned by gravity in a first rotationalposition.
 26. The whipstock assembly of claim 25, further comprising:one or more radially moveable members secured to said whipstockassembly, said one or more radially moveable members being radiallymoveable from a nonengaged position with respect to said wellbore to anengaged position with respect to said wellbore.
 27. The whipstockassembly of claim 26, further comprising: one or more transducers forreceiving a signal, said one or more radially moveable members beingradially moveable in response to said signal.
 28. The whipstock assemblyof claim 25, further comprising: an orientation section, and aselectably rotational connection between said whipstock and saidorientation section.
 29. The whipstock assembly of claim 25, furthercomprising: a compressed gas chamber.
 30. A whipstock assembly for usein a wellbore, said whipstock assembly being moveable to a selectabledepth with a wellbore string, said whipstock assembly comprising: awhipstock with a guide surface; a first set of one or more radiallymoveable members secured to said whipstock assembly, said one or moreradially moveable members being radially moveable from a nonengagedposition with respect to said wellbore to an engaged position withrespect to said wellbore; and a second set of one or more secondradially moveable members secured to said whipstock assembly, said oneor more second radially moveable members being radially moveable from anonengaged position with respect to said wellbore to an engaged positionwith respect to said wellbore, said first set of one or more radiallymember and said second set of one or more second radially moveablemembers being independently operable for moving from said nonengagedposition to said engaged position.
 31. The assembly of claim 30, furthercomprising: one or more transducers for receiving one or more signals,said first set of one or more radially moveable members and said secondset of one or more second radially moveable members each being operableresponsively to receiving said one or more signals.
 32. The assembly ofclaim 30, further comprising: one or more compressed gas chambers.